[STARMAN 352ND]

I was told by a collector this morning that he got word that BBI has a 1/18 Hellcat coming out in 2007.
Harry have you being hearing this too?
If that true that will be a nice bird to have.
JP

[hworth18]

Yeah, I have heard that, and wouldn't be surpised since the Zero seemed to be a big hit.. BBI needs something to shoot them down with and the Hellcat seems like a logical choice..
There are some pics posted over on the SSHQ forum, but I don't know if they are legit..

[STARMAN 352ND]

Well in that case there is hope for a Hellcat after all...
I hope they will have a great paint scheme for their first cat.
JP

[mustangdriver]

Anything with that tri color scheme looks great.

[Steve1971]

The BBI Hellcat is very impressive. Heres some pics of what we will be getting:



This baby is very well done and as always very detailed, as is BBI's forte. The cockpit detail is the best I have seen so far. BUT the only problem I have is with the folded wings. To me they sit to high when folded. Now thats only a photo but it dont look right to me. Otherwise the Hellcat is just another winner from BBI. And one I will be getting no questions asked!

[VMF115]

With all the 1:18 livers out there this one is the lest favorite mine,,,don’t get me wrong I love the Hellcat…but the company that’s making it, screwed up the wing fold and the angle at which the wings fold. Also the main landing gear wheels are way to thin. WWII navel aircraft are supposed to have some width to the tires. I think Bbi which makes them did a poor job…and now they expect us 1:18ers to embrace it..
Another example of take it or leave it from those that know better then the collectors,, this large bird is more of a toy then a collectable, due to the inaccuracies. It really sad I was getting really excited over this one.
I will probably get one but it will strung from the ceiling.

[Old Crow]

I saw an example of this, along with BBI's 1/32 Phantom, at Weekend of Heroes in Pomona (So. Calif.) earlier this summer. Mighty impressive. Wish they had "toys" like this when I was a kid.

[Steve1971]

Originally Posted by VMF115

With all the 1:18 livers out there this one is the lest favorite mine,,,don’t get me wrong I love the Hellcat…but the company that’s making it, screwed up the wing fold and the angle at which the wings fold. Also the main landing gear wheels are way to thin. WWII navel aircraft are supposed to have some width to the tires. I think Bbi which makes them did a poor job…and now they expect us 1:18ers to embrace it..
Another example of take it or leave it from those that know better then the collectors,, this large bird is more of a toy then a collectable, due to the inaccuracies. It really sad I was getting really excited over this one.
I will probably get one but it will strung from the ceiling.

The wing fold is wrong no doubt but for me fixable as are the tires fixable as well. All of the 1/18th aircraft made so far by both companies suffer from the thin tire syndrome as I call it. But they can be fixed as I said. This Hellcat save for the wing fold and tires is very accurate right down to the riveting. You cant get any better unless you buy a real one. As someone already said I wish they made "toys" like these when I was young. No matter this is, next to the Mustang, my all time favorite WW 2 fighter plane and as Yoda would say "Own it, you must, have it you must!"

[VMF115]

I sure wish they had these when I was a kid to,,but

I really don’t see them as toys,,,, I see them more as collectables. Give it a few years and we will see 1:18 military aircraft grow in the same way that 1:48 and 1:72 A/C diecast did,,,as for the room you only need to disply a few at a time.

[VMF115]

Originally Posted by Steve1971

The wing fold is wrong no doubt but for me fixable as are the tires fixable as well. All of the 1/18th aircraft made so far by both companies suffer from the thin tire syndrome as I call it. But they can be fixed as I said. This Hellcat save for the wing fold and tires is very accurate right down to the riveting. You cant get any better unless you buy a real one. As someone already said I wish they made "toys" like these when I was young. No matter this is, next to the Mustang, my all time favorite WW 2 fighter plane and as Yoda would say "Own it, you must, have it you must!"

How would you fix the wing fold,,,as for the tires I heard that if you could get some Avengers wheels then you could replace them….however you might not be able to retract them. What is your idea?


I think we should not have to fix the problems and after all Bbi does advertise 1/18 accurate scale on their boxes, does that not sound like false advertising ? It does to me.

I will most likely pick one or two up for myself.